<p>Independent study= Virtual High School
Hi, so my school offers something called virtual high school (independent study), where you can go through a program to take a course offering on a certain list as an extra/ additional course throughout the year, or even over the summer. They allow taking certain courses to count towards the course credit (for example- you could take Algebra II over the summer through VHS and go right to Precalculus the following year). And school policy makes it so VHS grades are shown on transcripts (as they should be) as well. However, my school's committee currently does not allow VHS courses to be part of the calculation of gpa (unlike a decent amount of other schools here), which really upsets me- but this summer they may reconsider that- maybe. My situation is that I messed up/ slacked badly freshman year and the beginning of sophomore year, but then woke up in reality and started working hard, setting my standards high for a top college as a goal. However, I have calculated that if I get perfect scores in every class from now on- and I mean perfect scores on everything- the max I can have is a 3.8 weighted gpa (my school sends out weighted gpas)- which isn't going to happen, for it won't even be that high despite my hard work now. Either way, I plan to take some VHS courses in the upcoming year in addition to regular courses, but if they were weighted into gpa, it'd be so much more fair and very reassuring. Anyway, what do you guys think about me asking to attend one of these school faculty committee meetings and advocating my opinion? Are the chances decent for it ending up in my favor if I do? I would basically explain my situation and how trapped I am right now with my revived ambition. To me, it's simple- if someone takes an AP VHS course, that should be weighed into gpa, without a doubt, with the same bonus school taught APs are given at my school. However, I will say that not all of the courses should be added into gpa- some of them seem like they're a breeze- like, VERY easy. But any course with the label "honors" or "AP" on the course offerings list should be added to gpa. I'll say that this'll help students in my situation (not just me- not trying to seem self- centered). What else should I do? If counted in gpa, these courses would really give me a good shot at getting into a good college, and any other students in the future as well who wake up later in high school. I'm not trying to take an easy way out- right now I'm studying like crazy, and these VHS courses that are honors and AP level are just as rigorous as a lot of the ones offered at my school (I hear). What do you all think? Should there be more restrictions as to how many are/ are not added into gpa? Agree or disagree? What else should I say? Does it sound like a good idea? I was talking to my vice principle a little bit about it, and even she said that even though most of the VHS courses meet/ exceed the rigor of the courses taught in the high school, there is SOME concern over integrity/ difficulty of the courses in the committee. Sigh- this is why I ranted on above about the honors/ AP ones. Thanks.</p>
<p>Wow…no advice?</p>
<p>@OP:</p>
<p>That can be very hard to do. My school gives credit for VHS classes, but will not let you place out the class, and the VHS classes are not on your transcript with a grade.</p>
<p>This is because VHS is simply not considered the ‘same’ [even though VHS is way harder].</p>
<p>However, I highly recommend you go forward with your plan. You could specifically say:</p>
<p>Get the AP Classes part of the GPA.</p>
<p>This is a good strategy because:
- These AP Classes are already vetted by College Board to see if they meet standard, just like regular high school courses</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The AP Class can add to one’s weighted GPA</p></li>
<li><p>AP Classes are diverse, especially on VHS, where they have rare ones like AP US Government and AP Music Theory</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Good Luck!!
-Apollo11</p>
<p>Thanks for the response! And yeah, I was thinking about pulling that argument in favor over counting at least the APs because of their college board approval. Thanks, once again.</p>
<p>^Also, you could show the average score from VHS users vs. average score from your school.</p>
<p>Maybe, you can tell them that by offering this, you increase the allure of the school. Suddenly, your high school now has more AP Scholars, more AP Classes and a higher college admissions rate [<- Hard to justify the last reason]</p>
<p>Anyway, I’m so jealous of you, especially if you get the GPA Boost. I’d really like it to happen for you though.</p>
<p>Thank you!!!</p>
<p>What happens if you don’t get A’s in the online class? Would you feel differently about having them calculated into your GPA? I’m sure many kids would.</p>
<p>Conversely, if you are getting all A’s online but not in school, that isn’t quite fair to the other kids working for their A’s in their classrooms is it?</p>
<p>I would also question the ability to look up answers online to ensure those A’s, as opposed to in the classroom where that isn’t possible.</p>
<p>Those would be the concerns I would have about this. At our school district there is no online aspect except for kids that are seriously in danger of not graduating, and then it is for credit only.</p>